


Lost in Dreams

by Angel_Lightwood



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Alec Lightwood Deserves Nice Things, Alec survives, Alternate Universe - Inception Fusion, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, F/M, Hurt Alec Lightwood, Hurt Simon Lewis, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, M/M, Obsession, Protective Everyone, Protective Magnus Bane, Protective Raphael
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-27
Updated: 2020-09-02
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:07:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,405
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24948904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Angel_Lightwood/pseuds/Angel_Lightwood
Summary: Valentine has kidnapped Alec and is using him as a hostage to force Magnus to do an Inception job for him. Valentine wants Magnus to plant the idea in Simon's mind to change his mind about divorcing Jonathan. But when Magnus discovers that Jonathan had been abusing Simon he is torn about what to do. Magnus won't rest until he saves Alec but he can't allow Simon to return to his abusive husband.Alec tries to escape from Valentine, but he has become obsessed with Alec so he is desperate to keep Alec from escaping. What Valentine doesn't know is that Alec has the power of being able to communicate with people through dreams, he uses this power to talk to Magnus but he has to be careful so that Valentine doesn't find out about his power.
Relationships: (forced), (one-sided), Alec Lightwood/Valentine Morgenstern, Clary Fray/Jace Wayland, Isabelle Lightwood/Maia Roberts, Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, Simon Lewis/Jonathan Chrisopher Morgenstern | Sebastian Verlac, Simon Lewis/Raphael Santiago
Comments: 29
Kudos: 62





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys, I hope you enjoy this video. I'm going to write a fanfic to go with the trailer :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys, I hope you enjoy this video. If you haven't seen Inception I recommend it, it is one of my favourite movies. 
> 
> For those that know Inception, this fanfic will have a happy ending and Alec will survive.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys, I hope you enjoy this chapter :) 
> 
> Just a heads up, it gets a bit dark when I switch to Alec's point of view at the end because of Valentine.

Magnus' blood was boiling with rage. He had just had a phone call with Valentine, he had kidnapped the love of his life and was holding him hostage. He used to be friends with Valentine and work with him on Inception jobs, he couldn't believe Valentine was betraying him now. He wanted to kill Valentine for daring to kidnap his Alexander. But while Valentine had Alec he couldn't hurt him. Magnus knew he should bring back up, but Valentine had threatened to kill Alec if he brought anyone and he couldn't risk it.

Magnus gave Valentine a death glare when he arrived at Valentine's house and they had gone to Valentine's living room. "You will wish you had never been born for taking Alexander". It made Magnus even angrier that Valentine wasn't phased by his threat at all he just laughed.

"Oh I'm so scared", Valentine said sarcastically, "You can't do anything while I have your precious Alexander".

It took all of Magnus' willpower not to break Valentine's nose, "Where is Alexander? I won't agree to anything until I see him".

Valentine rolled his eyes, but texted his son to bring Alec. Jonathan brought Alec to the living room. Alec was struggling but Jonathan had a tight grip on him and his hands were cuffed. Alec's eyes lit up when he saw Magnus and he tried harder to escape and run to Magnus, but Jonathan pulled him back harshly and held a gun to his head

"Alexander!" Magnus said relieved to see him alive but his anger grew at the sight of Jonathan threatening Alec with a gun.

"There you see, Alexander is alive", Valentine said.

"Father do we have to bargain Alec? I want to keep him", Jonathan said and kissed Alec's neck making him struggle more and making it even harder for Magnus to control his fury.

"Jonathan we're doing this so you can get Simon back remember?"

Jonathan sighed, "Fine whatever".

"Magnus, I have an Inception job for you. If you complete it I will let Alexander go".

"How do I know you won't just go back on the deal and keep Alec like your son clearly wants to".

"I am a man of my word".

"Your word means nothing to me", Magnus snarled as Jonathan continued to kiss Alec and grope him.

"Maybe so, but at least you have a chance of getting Alexander back, isn't that worth the risk?"

"What do you want?" Magnus reluctantly said when he realized that Valentine was right. 

"I want you to plant an idea in Simon Lewis' mind", Valentine said and gave Magnus a photo of Simon. "Simon has asked Jonathan for a divorce. I want you to change Simon's mind so that he will no longer want a divorce".

"Why does Simon want a divorce?" Magnus said warily, given the way Jonathan was treating Alec he was wary of doing this.

"That is private between Jonathan and Simon, I can't tell you Magnus. So will you do this for me?"

"Yes but only to get Alexander back", Magnus said.

Valentine smiled, "I'm so happy you have agreed to this, Alexander is very beautiful I would have hated killing him. Jonathan take Alexander back to my bedroom and tie him to my bed again", Valentine said deliberately and smirked at Magnus knowing this would hurt him. As Valentine expected Magnus had curled his fists and he could tell it was to stop himself attacking him. 

Jonathan forced Alec back to Valentine's bedroom, Alec tried to fight to get to Magnus but Jonathan was too strong. Valentine gave more details on the job he wanted Magnus to do and gave him Simon's location so that Magnus could sedate Simon and talk to him through dreams.

When Magnus left he texted Izzy, Jace, Maia, Raphael and Luke and asked them to come to his house. He knew it would upset them to learn of Alec's kidnapping but they needed to know and he needed their help. He also needed an architect to design the dreams. He couldn't do it himself, as his past lover Camille haunted his dreams and always tried to mess everything up for him. He knew that his friends would have good advice for finding a new architect.

When everyone arrived at his house they immediately noticed Alec's absence and questioned Magnus about it. "That is part of the reason I asked you to come tonight. I'm so sorry but Valentine has kidnapped Alexander".

"What?" Izzy and Jace said at the same time furiously.

"How could Valentine betray us like this?" Luke said sadly, he used to be best friends with Valentine but he had become distant. He couldn't believe he would kidnap Alec.

"We're going to kill Valentine for this right?" Maia said angrily. She and Alec had become close when she began dating Izzy and she was furious that Valentine had done this. She wrapped a comforting arm around her girlfriend knowing this was hurting her badly. Izzy gratefully leaned into her touch.

"We can't Maia, Valentine has threatened to kill Alexander if we try that", Magnus said.

"How are we going to get Alec back?" Raphael asked, he had also grown close to Alec. Initially because he knew how much he meant to Magnus, but now he considered Alec to be one of his closest friends.

"Valentine has said he will give Alexander back if we do an Inception job for him", Magnus said and explained the job to them. "But we need a new architect. Raj betrayed us and you know I can't do it because of Camille. Do any of you know someone who could be an architect?"

"What about Clary?" Izzy said to Jace and Luke.

"No way Izzy, it would be too dangerous. I'm not getting my girlfriend involved in this", Jace protested.

"I agree, I can't put her in danger", Luke said, he and Jocelyn had recently gotten married, and though he had always thought of Clary as his daughter it was official now and he couldn't let her get hurt.

"I know but she would be an amazing architect, she's so great at art and design. We'll protect her".

Luke and Jace shared a meaningful look, though they didn't want to involve Clary in this they knew that Izzy was right.

"Okay but it is her choice, if she thinks it would be too much for her we aren't making her do this", Luke said protectively.

Magnus nodded, "Of course, I would never force anyone to do this. Can you set up a time for me to meet Clary?" 

"Yes I'll talk to her tonight, but I will need to talk to Jocelyn first. I don't feel I can do this without her knowing, at least she has helped us before so that should help".

"I understand, let me know your decision", Magnus said. Though he desperately wanted Alec back, he couldn't allow Clary to join the mission without Jocelyn's permission as it was so dangerous.

They spent the rest of the afternoon discussing the mission. Magnus explained to them what Valentine wanted them to do. They also discussed possible back ups if Clary wasn't able to join them. Magnus suggested Catarina and Ragnor, they were his best friends and he more than trusted them with this.

Magnus was so afraid for Alec, he had missed out what Jonathan had done to Alec when he told the others about his kidnapping. He didn't want to scare them them more than they already were. He wished that he had been there to bring Alec back from the airport. Alec had to leave New York for a work conference. Magnus had wanted to pick Alec up but because of work he hadn't been able to. Alec had been alone and unprotected. Magnus knew he couldn't have been there, but he still felt as though this was all his fault. Magnus would not rest until he saved Alec. 

Alec had been tied to a chair and kept in Valentine's bedroom. He was originally on the bed but to his immense relief Jonathan moved him to a chair. He didn't like the way Valentine kept staring at him. Alec's only solace was that when he was allowed to sleep he would be able to use his power to communicate to Magnus though dreams. 

He had been so happy to see Magnus, but his happiness had been quickly deflated when he had been forced apart from Magnus and when Jonathan kissed and groped him. He was still reeling from Jonathan and Valentine's betrayal, they used be friends. He had met them through Magnus, he never thought they would do this to him. 

Valentine walked over to Alec and sat on his lap very close to him making him wish he could get away from Valentine.

"I can see why Magnus likes you so much, you are very pretty", Valentine said as he brushed some hair out of Alec's eyes.

"Please get off me", Alec said trying not to sound as scared as he felt.

"Oh don't be like that Alexander", Valentine said making Alec flinch, it sounded so wrong coming from Valentine. He only wanted Magnus to call him Alexander. "We are going to have so much fun", Valentine said and began to thrust himself hard against Alec.

Alec felt tears streaming down his face and begged Valentine to stop but he ignored him. When Valentine finally stopped and got off Alec, Alec was so relieved. Alec was so grateful that Valentine didn't go as far as raping him, but he was so scared that Valentine would. Valentine bent down and kissed Alec fiercely despite Alec trying to fight Valentine.

"I really enjoyed that Alexander, I can't wait to be inside you", Valentine said when he finally finished the kiss and walked away leaving Alec frozen with fear.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys, I hope you enjoy this chapter :) 
> 
> Just a heads up, this chapter starts a bit dark.
> 
> Clary and Luke don't know Simon in this universe, but Clary will become friends with Simon. I love their friendship in the show.

Alec was glad he could finally sleep and talk to Magnus. But he wished he wasn't being forced to share the bed with Valentine. Alec's wrists and ankles were tied to the bed, Alec had tried testing their strength earlier but no matter how hard he pulled they wouldn't budge. Valentine had raped him before bed, Alec was still in shock from it. He knew it was coming after what Valentine said earlier, but he had hoped that Valentine was just trying to scare him. But he had been wrong. Though Alec had been raped before so many times by his abusive ex boyfriend Victor, it didn't stop him from feeling as though he was drowning. 

Even worse Valentine had wanted to sleep while still being inside Alec, and sometimes he would unconsciously thrust inside Alec. A couple of times during the night Valentine had woken up and forced himself on Alec again. Tears threatened to fall again at the memories. Alec was afraid that Valentine would take advantage of his body if he fell asleep, but Alec desperately wanted to see Magnus. So Alec made himself fall asleep. 

Alec found himself in his and Magnus' favourite restaurant in his dream and he was so elated to see that Magnus was sitting opposite him. "Mags", Alec cried joyfully, they both immediately stood up and hugged each other tightly.

"Oh Alexander, I have missed you so much".

"I missed you too".

"I'm so sorry I couldn't save you from Valentine", Magnus said, feeling glad Alec couldn't see how ashamed he felt for being unable to protect him.

"Valentine would have killed me if you tried anything. I know it's hard for you to accept, but by not hurting Valentine you did save me".

"What did I do to deserve you", Magnus said as he pulled back from the hug and looked at Alec with wonder.

Alec smiled lovingly, "You were your amazing self Magnus. The guys I went out with before we met were nothing like you. They never took interest in what I wanted, they only talked about themselves or they would force themselves on me. I had given up on love, but then I met you".

Magnus felt his heart fill with love for Alec but at the same time he felt rage for what Alec had been through because of his exes. He hated that they had mistreated Alec. Alec had told Magnus the abuse he had suffered from Victor and Magnus vowed to himself that he would never treat Alec like that. 

Magnus kissed Alec, though it wasn't truly real as they were both dreaming, the kiss felt real and Magnus wanted to show Alec how much he loved him through the kiss.

"I will save you Alexander".

Alec rested his head against Magnus' chest and wrapped his arms around Magnus and Magnus wrapped his arms around him. "I know you will", Alec said.

They stayed like that for so long that it could have been days, Alec couldn't tell anymore as time worked differently in dreams. But Alec suddenly felt himself being pulled back into reality. Magnus became furious when he saw the terrified look on Alec's face.

"No! I can't go back", Alec said panic stricken, knowing that Valentine wanted to rape him again. His power allowed him to see what was happening in reality even though he was dreaming. Valentine was kissing him and trying to force him awake.

Magnus pulled Alec closer to him trying to calm him, "Fight Valentine, he doesn't know about your power". Magnus said trying to encourage Alec.

Alec closed his eyes and tried so hard to stay with Magnus, but he was being pulled away from Magnus and he lost his grip on him. Magnus tried desperately to grab Alec's hand and Alec held his hand out trying to grab Magnus' hand too. But Magnus couldn't get there fast enough and Alec disappeared.

"No!" Magnus screamed, his heart feeling as though it had been ripped in two.

Magnus jolted awake in his bed, tears streaming down his face. He was so afraid of what Valentine was doing to Alec. Magnus didn't get anymore sleep at all that night.

When Magnus woke up the next day he was determined to find out if Clary was going to join them. He couldn't delay the mission any longer. He had given Luke the previous evening to tell Clary and Jocelyn everything and to give them time to decide what they were going to do. But he needed to know now. He texted Luke asking him to come over to his house now. Thankfully Luke agreed to come and was on his way with Clary. He found Jace making coffee in the kitchen. Everyone apart from Luke had slept over at Magnus' apartment. 

Jace was the only other person in their team that knew of Alec's power. Alec had accidentally talked to Jace in his dream when they were seventeen. He had tried to get Jace to believe it was just a dream, but the things they had talked about were enough to prove that it wasn't. As Jace had told Alec things he hadn't told anyone and Alec hadn't been able to fool Jace when he tried to pretend as though Jace never told him these things when he brought the subject up.

So Magnus felt it was safe to tell Jace about talking to Alec in his dream last night, though he double checked they were the only ones in the room and no one was listening in on them. Though he trusted his team, it was Alec's secret and he would feel terrible if someone found out without his permission. And because of what Alec could do with his power, Alec would be in a lot of danger if the wrong person found out.

"He was so scared Jace", Magnus said shakily, it had taken a long time for Magnus and Jace to trust each other. But now they were close friends. "I keep seeing Alexander's terrified face as he was being forced awake".

Jace put his arm comfortingly around Magnus. Alec was better at comforting people than him. But Alec couldn't be here and Jace knew Alec would be mad at him if Jace didn't try to comfort Magnus. Jace also knew he would be heartbroken if this had happened to Clary. "Alec is strong, he's a survivor he has been through so much but he is still standing tall. Alec will be okay and I won't stop until we save Alec".

Magnus knew Jace was right. Alec had been hurt so much by people who didn't deserve him; his parents and his exes. But instead of giving up, Alec fought back and became stronger. Magnus smiled gratefully at Jace. "Thank you for saying that", Magnus said and hugged Jace.

Luke arrived with Clary ten minutes later. Everyone else had woken up and eaten breakfast so they moved to the living room to discuss the mission. Jace protectively pulled Clary onto his lap. Clary smiled and snuggled close to Jace.

"I'm so proud of you for doing this Clary. Thank you for helping us", Jace said while the others were settling into their seats and bringing through drawing tools so that Clary could practice designing dreams.

"I would do anything for you and Alec, I know we didn't start of best friends but I consider Alec family now", Clary said.

Jace's love for Clary grew even more if that was possible. Jace was afraid for Clary's safety and promised himself that he would do whatever it takes to protect Clary. When everyone had settled down Magnus spoke.

"Thank you so much for agreeing to do this Clary", Magnus said, this was the first time Magnus was meeting Clary. Jace always spoke very fondly of her and despite the situation Magnus was glad he was able to meet Clary. "Here are some examples of previous dream world designs". Magnus said after Clary smiled shyly at his thanks. Clary took the designs and examined them.

They spend the rest of the afternoon showing Clary how to design the dreams and when Clary felt confident enough to create her own dream world, she and Magnus were sedated by Raphael so that they could talk through a shared dream.

While Alec could use his power to communicate to people through shared dreams, everyone else had to use special equipment specifically designed for this. This equipment was extremely expensive and rare. There were only two sets available, Magnus was very lucky to have his. He knew Valentine was searching for the other which was why it was so important to keep Alec's power a secret. 

Magnus prayed Valentine wouldn't find out about Alec's power. Magnus knew there would be no chance of Valentine willingly giving Alec back if he found out. Magnus hoped that he would be able to talk to Alec tonight, he needed to know what Valentine had done to him that made him so scared. He had been unable to ask last night as he was so focused on spending as much time as possible with Alec in his arms. Magnus longed to be able to wrap his arms around Alec in the real world. Magnus knew he wouldn't be able to get any sleep at all until Alec was sleeping beside him.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys, I hope you enjoy this chapter :)

Magnus and Clary were sharing a dream so that Magnus could teach Clary how to design dreams. Magnus was the subject of the dream. 

"This is incredible, I never thought something like this could be possible", Clary said as she experimented with the physics of the dream world.

Magnus smiled fondly at Clary, through sharing dreams he had become closer with Clary and he could see why Jace loved her so much. "I remember when I first discovered that we could do this. I felt the same way".

"How did you find out about this?"

Magnus looked away uncomfortably, it was because of Alec's power that he discovered people could share dreams. Alec's power inspired him to do research and after a long time, he found the equipment he had today that allowed him to share dreams. But he couldn't tell her about Alec's power he would have to leave that out.

So he explained to Clary about the research and was thankful she didn't ask why he wanted to do the research. Clary didn't seem like the kind of person to betray Alec, but Magnus didn't know her well enough yet and he couldn't tell her without Alec's permission.

One of the people Magnus' mind created for this dream suddenly bashed into Clary.

"Hey!" Clary said as she clutched her arm.

"Are you alright?" Magnus asked in concern.

"Yeah I'm okay, why did that guy bash into me?"

"Because you are changing the physics of my dream so much, the people my mind populated this world with are noticing what you are doing. As I'm the subject of this dream he didn't do that to me".

Magnus looked around Clary's design and suddenly realized he recognized where they were. Alec was able to use real places for his dream sharing as he could naturally share dreams with his power, but everyone else couldn't do it or the dream would start to collapse and it would be hard to know what was real and what wasn't.

"Is this somewhere you know from the real world?" Magnus said urgently.

Clary gave him a confused look not understanding why Magnus was so frantic, "Yes this is just outside the cafe me and Jace normally go to", Clary said as she gestured to the cafe.

"You can't use real places, it will make it harder for you tell if this is a dream".

"But I know this is a dream".

"Only because you are with me, but if you were alone you wouldn't be able to tell-" Magnus was cut of when he suddenly noticed Camille stalking towards them with a knife. "We need to go now!" Magnus said as he pulled Clary with him and they started running.

"Who is she, why is she trying to kill us?" Clary said frantically.

"She is Camille, my ex-girlfriend, she was murdered and she haunts my dreams", Magnus said fighting the tears that threatened to fall. Though Camille had cheated on him and had broken his heart, Magnus had still loved her and was grieving for her.

"I'm so sorry Magnus", Clary said feeling guilty for asking the question.

"It's okay Biscuit. My insecurities of moving on with Alexander are reflected in Camille. She always tries to destroy my dream".

"If she kills us we won't die for real right?" Clary said fearfully.

"No we will just wake up".

Magnus left out that though they wouldn't die they would still feel the pain, though judging by Clary's terrified face she had figured that out. Suddenly some of the people that populated Magnus' dream grabbed Clary. Clary tried to fight them off but there were too many people grabbing her. 

"Magnus help me!" Clary screamed.

Magnus tried to run to Clary but he was grabbed from behind and was prevented from moving. Magnus panicked when he saw Camille walk towards Clary with her knife. "Camille please don't do this".

Camille just gave Magnus a dark look, "This is for moving on with Alec", Camille said and stabbed Clary with the knife.

Clary jolted awake screaming. Jace rushed over to Clary and embraced her. 

"Clary it's okay it wasn't real you're safe", Jace said. 

"What happened?" Luke said angrily to Magnus who had woken up at the same time as Clary. Izzy had been in the kitchen with Maia and Raphael but they came running in when they heard Clary screaming.

"Camille happened", Magnus said, "I'm so sorry Biscuit I thought that wouldn't happen with a new architect".

"It's okay Magnus", Clary said reassuringly when she had her breath back.

"What did Camille do?" Jace said just as angrily as Luke.

"She killed Clary in the dream", Magnus said guiltily.

"You said this would be safe!" Jace said angrily

"Jace it really is okay, Magnus wouldn't have let me do this if he had thought Camille would attack me. It wasn't Magnus' fault". Clary said as she hugged Jace to calm him.

"I'm sorry Magnus I didn't mean to shout I- wait a minute. Since when do you call Clary Biscuit?" Jace said jealously.

"Relax Jace, It's not like that", Izzy said rolling her eyes, "Magnus has a nickname for everyone".

"Yeah he calls me Moony", Maia said with a grin.

"But I don't have a nickname", Jace said with a pout feeling jealous for whole other reason.

"Yes you do, it's Blondie", Magnus said smirking at Jace. 

"Come on Magnus, you have to come up with a better nickname than that", Jace complained.

Luke shook his head as Magnus and Jace bickered about nicknames. He was still angry that Clary had been hurt, but he realized that what she said was true. Magnus wouldn't have intentionally put her in that position.

"Magnus didn't do any better with me, he calls me Night Stalker", Raphael said with a shake of his head.

"Hey that is a great nickname and I stand by it", Magnus said and crossed his arms irritably.

They spent the rest of the afternoon discussing how they could go about giving Clary the time to practice designing more dreams. Izzy suggested that someone else could be the subject of the dream instead of Magnus so that Clary would be safe from Camille. Over the next couple of days, Clary felt confident that she could create dreams.

So they set out a plan to contact Simon and talk to him through dreams. The plan was that, Raphael would meet Simon at the bar Simon normally goes to and seduce him. Raphael would pretend to be Simon's boyfriend and when Simon trusted Raphael enough, Raphael would bring Simon to Magnus' apartment and they would sedate him. This way they could talk to him through dreams about his decision to divorce Jonathan, but make him believe that the idea to change his mind about divorcing Jonathan was his own idea not theirs.

Alec was glad for the reprieve from Valentine and Jonathan. He was in Magnus' arms in their bedroom but in his dream. Alec didn't know how long he had before Valentine would force him to wake up again, but Alec would gladly take any time he could spend with Magnus. Even if it was just five minutes.

"Alexander, you don't have to tell me but why were you so scared to wake up last time, what has Valentine been doing to you?"

Alec tensed, he was worried about what Magnus would think of him if he knew. Magnus had been so wonderfully supportive when he told him about Victor, but he hadn't been in a relationship with Magnus when Victor had forced himself on him. Now that he was, he was scared that Magnus wouldn't want him anymore because he had been tainted by Valentine. But Magnus deserved to know the truth so he could decide to break up with him if he wanted.

"Valentine has become obsessed with me, he keeps me tied to his bed and he rapes me. I'm sorry Magnus, if you want to break up with me I understand".

Magnus hugged Alec tightly, "I'm so sorry Valentine has done that to you, he will pay for this- wait why do you think I would break up with you?" Magnus said as he pulled back from the hug startled.

Alec looked away, "Because I was with another man".

"Alexander, it was against your will. I could never break up with you for that".

"But Raj broke up with me because Victor raped me. He saw what Victor was doing to me and he didn't even try to stop him and save me. He just said I was tainted and he considered what Victor did to me to be cheating. He left me with Victor because I deserved it".

Magnus felt fury consume him, he mentally added Raj to his list of people he wanted to get revenge on. "You aren't tainted Alexander, Raj was awful to say that to you. You didn't cheat on him, you didn't want it. You didn't deserve to be left with Victor, Raj didn't deserve you. I'm not Raj, I don't share his views. What Valentine did to you doesn't change my love for you".

Alec broke down in tears and Magnus gathered him in his arms, wishing he could protect Alec from Valentine.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys, I hope you enjoy this chapter :)

Alec was feeling nervous, he had been left alone for a long time. He wasn't sure how long, but it had felt like hours. He didn't like not knowing when Valentine would come back, it made him more scared not knowing what to expect. Alec tensed when the door opened an hour later fearing that Valentine was coming back, but it was not Valentine. 

Alec's heart hurt when Andrew came in. Andrew was one of his closest friends, first Valentine and Jonathan had betrayed him and now Andrew. His heart couldn't take another betrayal. Alec looked away unable to look at Andrew, but he was shocked when Andrew unlocked the handcuffs both on his wrists and his ankles. 

"Andrew what are you doing?" 

"I'm saving you", Andrew said. 

Andrew moved to help Alec up but Alec backed away and jumped off the bed. Still afraid that Andrew was like Valentine and was trying to force himself on him. Getting off the bed and moving as far from Andrew as possible would make it harder for Andrew to pin him down. 

"How do I know this isn't a trick and you're working with Valentine? I mean how did you even get in here?"

"You mean so much to me Alec, I would never hurt you. I tricked Valentine into thinking I was working for him, he knew we are best friends so he thought he could use that to torture you. I told him that I was in love with you and I hated you for choosing Magnus over me, so that Valentine wouldn't think I was trying to help you". 

Alec was starting to believe Andrew, though part of him was still afraid Andrew was lying this was the only chance he had of escape. So Alec hesitantly walked around the bed and over to Andrew. 

"Okay I'll go with you", Alec said. 

Andrew smiled and took Alec's hand, "Come on we need to go now". 

Andrew led Alec out of Valentine's bedroom and into the corridor. Valentine had a huge mansion, and Alec was afraid that they would get lost. But Andrew seemed to know where they were going thankfully. They had nearly made it out of the mansion but Jonathan appeared out of no-where and blocked the door. 

Jonathan was holding a gun and pointing it at Andrew, "I told father that you were a traitor. But he wouldn't believe me. He was so sure he could use you against Alec. He should have listened to me I am never wrong". 

Andrew put Alec behind him and pointed his own gun at Jonathan. Where had the gun come from? Alec didn't see the gun. He had no idea Andrew even knew how to use a gun. Alec had a lot of questions for Andrew, but they had to wait. Alec was scared for Andrew's safety more than his own. He knew Jace would scold him for it, but he couldn't help it. Alec always put everyone he loved before him. 

"Andrew lower your gun, I don't want you to get hurt because of me", Alec said anxiously. 

"You would be more than worth it", Andrew said still keeping his gun pointing at Jonathan. 

"Aw that's so sweet", Jonathan said sarcastically. 

Alec gasped in shock and fear as Valentine suddenly grabbed him from behind and threatened him with his gun. Alec automatically put his hands on Valentine's arm around his neck, he tried to move his arm away from his neck but Valentine just tightened his grip making it harder for Alec to breathe. 

"Drop your gun Andrew or I'll kill Alec", Valentine said. 

Andrew's heart pounded in fear for Alec. He had been so focused on Jonathan that he hadn't noticed Valentine coming up behind them. Valentine was meant to be out for the day, he hadn't expected him to be back. Andrew reluctantly dropped his gun, he would never forgive himself if Valentine killed Alec because of him. 

"Good boy", Jonathan said in a sing song tone. 

"Jonathan you know where to take Andrew", Valentine said with a smirk that Jonathan returned. 

"No please don't hurt Andrew!" Alec said in a panic. 

"You don't have any say here Alexander", Valentine said darkly as Jonathan grabbed Andrew and dragged him away. "You tried to escape so someone needs to be punished". 

"Please punish me, not Andrew". 

"That's a tempting offer, but I know it will hurt you more if Andrew is punished instead", Valentine said and he forced Alec back to his bedroom. 

Alec fought Valentine as much as he could but Valentine had the upper hand with his gun. Valentine tied Alec back on his bed and sat down next to him. Alec tried to move away as Valentine roamed his hands all over his body but the handcuffs made it impossible for him to escape. 

"You're lucky I didn't kill your friend. If you want Andrew to survive you better not try to escape again", Valentine threatened. He climbed on top of Alec and leaned down so that he was lying on top of him making Alec feel terrified and trapped. "Is that clear?" 

"I promise I won't try to escape again, just please let Andrew live", Alec said. 

Alec hated that it was what Valentine wanted to hear and that he had complete control over him. But Alec was so scared for Andrew, he realized that Andrew had been right. Valentine was going to use Andrew to torture him, Valentine used to be his friend he knew how much Alec loved his friends and family. He knew Alec's weaknesses. 

That made this so much worse. Valentine knew how to torture him effectively and he was scared that he would go after Magnus. He knew Valentine needed him to complete the inception job, but after he had done that there was nothing to stop Valentine from taking him or anyone else Alec loved to keep him prisoner. And that scared Alec so much. 

Raphael had found Simon Lewis sitting at his favourite bar just as Valentine said. Raphael was feeling guilty that he was planning to trick Simon into thinking he wanted to be his boyfriend. He knew it would really hurt him if Simon found out the truth. But he had to do this to save Alec. 

Seducing Simon had been easier than Raphael thought, while Raphael was good at being charming when he wanted to be. He still wasn't as good as Magnus or Jace at flirting. However Simon seemed to like him to his relief. They had been dating for over 6 months now and he had gained Simon's trust. 

Raphael knew Magnus didn't like waiting so long to do inception on Simon, but they had to have Simon's complete trust. So that Raphael could bring him back to his house so he could sedate him. And so that Simon would believe him in the dream. If Simon didn't trust him in the dream for even a second, it would cause the projections to realize something was wrong. They would attack and Simon would wake up before Raphael could persuade him to change his mind about divorcing Jonathan. 

Simon trusted him now, so Raphael hoped this wouldn't happen. If it went well Simon would just think he had been dreaming about him, which would make sense in Simon's mind as they were dating. Simon cared a lot about Raphael's opinion now, so he hoped that even if Simon believed it was a dream he would consider what he said. 

Raphael brought Simon back to his house after their meal out, the others were waiting upstairs so that Simon wouldn't see them. When Raphael had sedated Simon, he went upstairs to tell his friends it was safe to come down. Magnus was very protective of the dream sharing equipment so he was in charge of it. He sedated Raphael and used the equipment so that Raphael could share Simon's dream. 

Simon was in his favourite cafe working on a new original song for his band. He jumped in surprise when he realized that Raphael had sat down opposite him. How long had he been sitting there?

"Raph? I'm sorry I was so into my writing I didn't realize you were here". 

"That's okay, I only just sat down". 

Simon sighed in relief, fearing that he had been ignoring Raphael accidentally for an hour. "I thought you couldn't meet me". Simon said in confusion though he was happy for the surprise. 

Raphael played along, this must be part of Simon's dream, "Initially I couldn't but I made sure to finish early so I could spend more time with you". Simon smiled widely at him making Raphael feel guiltier for tricking him for their whole relationship. 

"That's so great, thank you Raph". 

"You're welcome. Listen there's something I need to talk to you about", Raphael said. 

Simon frowned in concern, "What's wrong?" 

"I think you should get back together with Jonathan". 

Simon gaped in shock at him, "But-but we're dating. I really like you and I can't go back to him". 

"I'm sorry Simon, but we're not working out. Jonathan called me and said how much he loves you, I can't stand in the way of that", Raphael lied. He hoped that if Simon believed Jonathan still loved him he would be more willing to go back to him. 

"No please don't do this Raphael, I love you I thought you loved me too", Simon said brokenly. Raphael had said he loved him a couple of months ago. His heart was breaking.

"I do love you, but not as much as Jonathan loves you". 

"You don't understand, Jonathan doesn't love me. He obsessed with me", Simon confessed. He had never told Raphael the true nature of his relationship with Jonathan, he had been afraid Raphael wouldn't want to be with him anymore. "Jonathan thinks he loves me but he just wants to control and own me. I left because Jonathan was abusive, he hit me and he... he raped me". Simon said his voice braking and he looked away unable to face Raphael. 

Raphael was stunned he had no idea that Jonathan had been abusive to Simon. The knowledge made him feel sick as he had been trying to make Simon go back to Jonathan. Now Raphael didn't know what to do. He wanted to save Alec, but he couldn't sacrifice Simon. 

Raphael hadn't meant to but he had fallen for Simon. Raphael cursed himself for doing so, he should have never fallen for the mark but he couldn't help it. Simon was a lot different from what he had been expecting. Simon was sweet, funny and charming. He talked so much that he imagined most people found irritating, but he found it endearing. Raphael couldn't let him go back to his abusive ex husband. 

Raphael moved and hugged Simon after he nodded his consent. Raphael hadn't been sure if touch would be welcome right now after what he had told him. Raphael was amazed that Simon was always so cheerful when he was with him in the real world, even though he had been through an abusive relationship. It made Raphael feel bad that he had probably missed the signs of Simon hurting, how many nights had Simon spent hurting alone without him? 

"I'm so sorry Simon, I didn't know Jonathan was like that". 

"It's okay, no-one did. Jonathan is talented at fooling people. He fooled me, he made me think he was kind and loving and I believed him. But after a year of being together, he started neglecting me all the time. We had a huge fight about it and he hit me. After that the abuse became so much worse. I tried to run but he found me and threatened to kill my family if I tried again". 

"I want to make Jonathan pay for doing this to you", Raphael said angrily. 

"No please don't, Jonathan is so dangerous", Simon said tearfully. 

Raphael cupped Simon's face, "I can't do nothing but I promise I will be careful". 

Raphael spent the rest of the time he had in the dream comforting Simon. He knew he should have been persuading him to change his mind about divorcing Jonathan. But there was no way he could do that now. When the time was up Raphael woke up but Magnus made sure Simon stayed asleep. 

"So did you change Simon's mind?" Magnus asked anxiously. 

Raphael sighed, "I'm sorry Magnus, but I can't do that anymore". 

"Why the hell not?" Jace said furiously. "You know that Alec has been with Valentine for half a year now right?"

"Yes of course I know that, but I found out that Jonathan abused Simon. We can't let them resume their relationship. Jonathan could end up killing Simon". 

That made everyone fall silent and stare at Raphael in shock. 

"I had no idea Jonathan abused Simon", Izzy said quietly. 

"No one knew", Maia said comfortingly as she put her arm around Izzy's waist. 

"What do we do now? We can't carry out our original plan", Clary said. 

"We should still complete the mission", Jace said fiercely making everyone glare furiously at him. 

"You can't be serious", Magnus said. 

"I thought you wanted to save Alec, don't you love him?" 

"Of course I want to, don't question my love for Alexander!" Magnus shouted trying to restrain himself from punching Jace. 

"What was I supposed to think? You won't agree with me on completing the mission!" 

"Jace we can't let Simon go back to an abusive ex. I can't believe you would allow it", Clary said angrily. 

"I'm not proud of wanting to do this, but I will do anything to save Alec".

Clary stormed off angrily and Jace stubbornly glared after her. But Maia ran after Clary, she was one of her best friends and she knew she would need comfort. She could tell Izzy wanted to go with her as she felt the same way about Clary but she was one of the few people Jace would listen to so she needed to stay. 

"Jace I want to save Alec as much as you do, but this isn't the way to do it. Alec would agree with me, he wouldn't want you to sacrifice Simon to save him", Izzy said. Even though Simon was a stranger to them, Izzy knew Alec well enough that he wouldn't let anyone be sacrificed for him even if he didn't know them. And Izzy felt the same way. 

"Well how else are we suppose to?" 

"We will think of something else we have to", Raphael said unable to keep his fear for Simon out of his voice. 

"You're in love with Simon aren't you", Luke said sympathetically. 

"What no I'm not", Raphael tried to deny. 

"Yes you are. Raphael you are never meant to fall in love with the target", Jace said getting more angry. 

"I know that, I didn't want to fall for Simon but I couldn't stop myself". 

"Jace leave Raphael alone, we will think of another way to save Alec and that is final", Magnus said fiercely. He was the leader of the group and even Jace would respect his decision even if he didn't like it. 

"Fine!" Jace said angrily and left the room. 

Magnus sighed, this made everything so much harder. He desperately wanted to save Alec, but he couldn't treat Simon like a lamb lead to slaughter. He knew Alec would be mad at him if he did that and Magnus would never forgive himself if Simon had to suffer more because of him. Magnus, Raphael, Izzy and Luke went to the living room to discuss a way to save Alec. They would stay up all night if they had to. Magnus knew none of them would get any sleep until they had found a way to save Alec.


End file.
